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After suffering a stroke 4 months ago …”WHERE IS MAXIE CUFFIE?”

Would someone in authority tell us where is Maxie Cuffie, the Minister of Public Administration and Communications?

Would someone, like Stuart Young, say what is the medical condition of Maxie Cuffie, who suffered a stroke on September 5, 2017?

Young, the Minister of Everything, has been making pronouncements on Cuffie’s medical status and when he would return to the job, but in recent times, Young has gone silent.

The last thing is that Cuffie has been given permission by the Speaker of the House to be absent from Parliament for January 2018. Then what?

Are the constituents of La Horquetta/Talparo being served by the absence of their Member of Parliament. One thing is certain – someone in the constituency is keeping Cuffie’s Facebook page alive as if the Minister is around.

From a Christmas message, to assistance with the floods in recent months, to rehabilitation of a road, to opening a football league, Cuffie is “present” according to the Facebook page.

So is Cuffie still warded in a hospital in Washington DC, or in California? When would he be back in Trinidad? When would he be back to work? Since Cuffie’s illness, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has been holding on as Minister of Public Administration and Communications.

CUFFIE’S ILLNESS

Cuffie suffered a debilitating stroke on September 5, 2017.

Cuffie’s relatives confirmed that he was transferred to a medical institution in Washington DC for physical rehabilitation.

Relatives say that Cuffie’s speech had improved significantly and he was well on the road to recovery.

“He is speaking well now. He was taken to a hospital in Washington for physical rehabilitation. The stories about him being brain dead are untrue. He is alive and his condition is improving significantly,” one relative said.

The country was told was told that Cuffie was expected to return to Trinidad in December.

Social media posts suggested that Cuffie was brain dead and calls were made for Rowley to declare the La Horquetta/Talparo seat vacant and call a by-election at the earliest possible time.

Cuffie was elected La Horquetta/Talparo MP in September 2015.

Cuffie suffered a stroke and was admitted to the intensive care unit at St Clair Medical Centre.

A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death.

In 2012, Cuffie suffered a stroke when he was editor of the T&T Mirror newspaper.

As the truth of our economic predicament sets in, readers may find it useful to look back at previous budgets since 2001.

One will easily note that in a nine-year period up to 2010, national budgets increased by over 300%, and while this happened, oil and gas production declined, there were drastic declines in drilling, negligible diversification, foreign investment plunged, and the State was plagued by over-budget mega projects.

In the years 2011 to 2015, national budgets increased by approximately 26% in spite of non-boom oil and gas prices, with increases in oil and gas exploration and new investments, as well as completed and delivered large-scale projects.